Camry Drive Noise

I have a camry with about 95k miles. There is a "scaping" noise that's most noticable at highway speeds (as apposed to around town). The noise is related to the speed of the car...no the engine. Can't tell if it's coming from front or back but I lean toward back of car. Seems like it is very slowly getting worse over time, although I've driven the car several hundred miles since it began. Can anyone suggest where I might begin to look for the problem?

Thanks.

Reply to
David Glass
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If the sound is related to the speed of the car, check:

Brakes to make sure one is not binding or the rotors and/or drums are not corroded Brake backing plates to make sure they are not bent and touching the rotors/drums Tires for unusual wear, objects embedded in the tire, tread separation, etc. CV joints Wheel bearings

Reply to
Ray O

Thanks for the advice. Inspected brakes carefully...didn't see anything unusual. CV joints look o.k....that is not split or cracked. Inspected tires. Look o.k., although the front are pretty worn on the edges. Went ahead and rotated them. Should be rotating more often. I did spend more time riding in the car, including the back seat and am convinced the noise is in the front. Is there a technique I can use to evaluate the wheel bearings? I jacked up the car, spun the wheels and tried to see if there was any play. Looks normal as far as I can tell. Any other ideas?

Thanks again.

PS - What does (correct punctuation to reply) mean?

Reply to
David Glass

When you inspected the brakes, did you make sure that the rotor is not touching the backing plate anywhere?

The sound from bad wheel bearings tends to change when turning a corner. For example, if the sound changes pitch when taking an exit ramp with a right-hand curve, then the left wheel bearing is suspect.

95k miles is kind of low for wheel bearing failure on a Camry, that's why I'd check to make sure the backing plates are not touching the rotors.

You're welcome!

Instead of "DOT com", in my return address, use the punctuation.

Reply to
Ray O

Spent more time driving and listening. I'm pretty sure the sound gets worse when turning left. For example, I can turn left in a big circle in a parking lot at about 30 mph and the sound seems be louder and come more from the right side of the car. Again, is there any other process that I might use to verify the bearing as the source of the problem?

Something else to consider...I replace the front brake pads last July. I did not turn the rotors at that time. Could this possibly be related to new pads running on the old rotors? Old rotors have a little ridge around the outside of the brake pad contact area.

Thanks.

Reply to
David Glass

If the noise gets louder on the front right side of the car when turning left, I would take a close look at the rotating parts on the right front side, including brake rotors, CV joints, and wheel bearings, in that order.

The ridge built up on the rotors may cause the noise. If you have one of those Scotch Brite pads that you can use with a drill, you can grind off the ridge on the inside and outside of the rotors. Check the pads to see if the ridge has worn an extra groove in the pads.

Check the CV joints for excess play. With the car sitting on a 4 wheels, you should not be able to get any rattle when twisting or shaking the inner and outer axles connected to the CV joint.

Reply to
Ray O

Hi...Took the car to a shop this a.m. He felt confident that the noise was tires. I need new tires so we'll find out!

Reply to
David Glass

Yup...it was tires. Thanks all for your inputs!

DG

Reply to
David Glass

Thanks for letting us know the results!

Reply to
Ray O

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